Regrets? Opting out of Clinical Trials May Prompt More than a Few

Medical Xpress | May 20, 2015

“Women who choose not to participate in a clinical trial may be significantly more likely to later regret that decision than women who choose to participate in the study, according to a team of Penn State researchers.

“The finding may help hospitals and health researchers attract more recruits for clinical trials, a task which many physicians consider the biggest obstacle to conducting these trials, according to the researchers. Typically, as many as 20 percent of a given population of patients are eligible to participate in clinical research. However, of those, only 2 to 7 percent choose to do so.

” ‘Clinical trials are crucial, they are what we use to make discoveries in the medical field,’ said James Dillard, professor of communication arts and sciences. ‘Every time a doctor makes a directive, that information is generally based on the results of clinical trials.’

“The researchers, who report their findings in the current issue of Patient Education and Counseling, said emotions played a strong role in the decisions of women who entered a recent clinical trial. Of 100 healthy women surveyed, 72 responded that they had agreed to participate.”